Westies are scouring their backyards, local parks and greenspaces to collect olives in the thousands ahead of the annual Olive to Oil event later this month.
Organised by CERES, the event brings the community together in a celebration of local produce.
Participants bring their olives to one of CERES’ drop-off sites, which are then delivered to Barfold Olives to become a fruity and unique blend of oil. On collection day, participants return home with the fruits (or oils) of their labour.
Altona North resident Laura Jenkins said her local area is a “Mecca” of olive trees, where many nature strips are dotted with goods.
“There are not many places you can walk without being far from an olive tree,” she said.
Ms Jenksins said the annual event brings out a special kind of community spirit.
“Last year we had a really beautiful experience where we were picking one of the olive trees and a neighbour came out and said ‘follow me’ and took us out the front of their house where they had two enormous trees laden with olives,” she said.
“They didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak their language. We had a huge communication barrier but it didn’t matter.
“They went and got ladders out of their sheds and helped us pick the olives … and we ended up with a really lovely interaction with our neighbours.”
This year, Ms Jenkins anticipates a bit more of a challenge due to it being an off year for olives, as olive trees typically produce fruit bi-annually. Nevertheless, she is looking forward to taking on the olive-picking adventure with her family and friends, relishing the opportunity to spend quality time outdoors.
Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Brimbank and Wyndham residents are invited to take part in the event, with the drop off date scheduled for May 26, at Sunshine Place carpark, outside Visy Cares Hub.
The pick up day will take place on June 23 at Werribee Park Community Farm.
Details: ceres.org.au/olives-to-oil/
Hannah Hammoud
